1. Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for supporting Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)-Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) mobility in devices.
2. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of eNodeBs that can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with an eNodeB via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the eNodeB to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the eNodeB.
In 3GPP Release 10, simultaneous network connections to multiple radio access technologies were enabled by Multi Access Packet Data Network Connectivity (MAPCON), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Protocol Tunnel (GPT), and non-seamless Wi-Fi offload. To take these capabilities into account, the Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) framework was enhanced with the introduction of Inter System Routing Policies (ISRP), allowing the operator to provide policies based on the traffic exchanged by the User Equipment (UE). In this way, the operator can indicate preferred or forbidden radio access technologies as a function of the type of traffic the UE sends. Specifically an ISRP can be based on: (a) the Packet Data Network (PDN) identifier, such as Access Point Name (APN), that the UE uses for a given connection; (b) the destination IP address to which the UE sends traffic; (c) the destination port number to which the UE connects; or (d) a combination of the above three elements. However, solutions for supporting Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)-Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) mobility on devices, such as UEs, remain as yet undeveloped.